The National Herd statistics report from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has revealed that the total number of cattle in the Republic of Ireland has fallen by over 400,000 head in the past twenty-four months.

As of March 1, 2025, there were 3.84 million (3,835,568) beef-sired animals and 2.86 million (2,862,587) dairy-sired animals in the country, totalling just under 6.7 million (6,698,155) cattle.

For March 1, 2024, there were 3.9 million (3,905,240) beef-sired animals and three million (3,080,937) dairy-sired animals in the country, totalling just under 6.99 million (6,986,177) cattle.